Women's Lacrosse

Tewaaraton finalists, top teams collide in home opener

Last March, Syracuse pulled off an upset of Maryland to assert itself into the national spotlight. Paired with the Terrapins this weekend, the Orange once again has something to prove.

“It was one of the turning points of our season last year,” sophomore attack Devon Collins said. “So I feel like this could set the tone for our season if we come out really strong and make a statement that we belong at No. 1.”

The No. 1 Orange (1-0) will look to defend its early-season status as top dog when it hosts No. 4 Maryland (1-0) on Sunday at 1 p.m. in the Carrier Dome. The Terrapins boast one of the best midfields in the country, one that features senior Katie Schwarzmann, the Tewaaraton Trophy winner from a year ago.

On March 10, then-No. 6 Syracuse traveled to College Park, Md., and knocked off the then-No. 3 Terrapins, snapping Maryland’s home winning streak at 36 games. The Terps had won the previous 12 matchups against the Orange.

In that game, Maryland was successful in keeping SU attack Alyssa Murray, who would lead the NCAA in points by the end of the season, off the scoreboard. But the Terps couldn’t stop Michelle Tumolo from recording a hat trick or Collins from scoring twice as well.



Even if Maryland slows down one of the Orange’s attacks, Gait is confident in the balance of the unit. If the Terps zero in on one of SU’s offensive threats, the surrounding players will step up, Gait said, just as Collins did last year. Gait pointed to Murray and freshman Kayla Treanor as more-than-capable scorers.

Tumolo said she won’t be surprised if the Terps faceguard her Sunday. Regardless of what the Terps throw at SU, Tumolo believes the home team will be prepared.

“They might press out a little bit more, try to rattle us a little bit,” Tumolo said. “I think we’ll be ready for that because we’ve seen it before.”

Speaking at SU’s Media Day on Wednesday, Tumolo was ecstatic to get her season started with Sunday’s game – she was ineligible for the Orange’s win over Jacksonville on Jan. 13 because she drew a red card in last season’s championship loss to Northwestern.

Tumolo was particularly excited to welcome Schwarzmann, her good friend who beat her by 5 percent in the voting for Inside Lacrosse’s Division-I Player of the Year, to the Carrier Dome.

“It’s fun to play against your friends just because you get to see them and I’m excited for them to come to the Dome because she’s never been,” Tumolo said.

The rest of the Orange is much less anxious to see Schwarzmann, who scored two goals in last year’s meeting.

Syracuse assistant coach Regy Thorpe knows the Tewaaraton winner is going to score against his defense on Sunday. SU has a few defensive looks prepared for the Terps midfielder, Thorpe said, but the key will be to keep Schwarzmann in the 1-3 goal range, not the 5-6.

In addition to Schwarzmann, the Orange will have an eye on Maryland attack Alex Aust, who Tumolo described as “phenomenal behind the goal.”

But the toughest matchup will be at midfield.

“They’re a super-athletic team that relies a lot on their midfield,” Gait said. “We’ve added a lot of depth in our midfield and we’re hoping that we can compete with them, get up and down in that area of the field.”

In just its second game of the season and first contest in more than a month, Syracuse will have its hands full with the Terrapins in a difficult early-season battle.

But if the Orange is going to prove it deserves the No. 1 distinction, Sunday’s meeting with Maryland is where the challenge begins.

“It’s a statement game. Beginning of the season, first home game, to see where we’re really at,” Gait said. “There’s been a lot of talk about are we No. 1, 2, 3, 4 – where do we stand? This is a great opportunity to measure ourselves against one of the most storied programs in women’s lacrosse.”





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